


This Is 221B

by silverskyfullofstars



Category: Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-03
Updated: 2017-09-03
Packaged: 2018-12-23 10:16:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11987757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silverskyfullofstars/pseuds/silverskyfullofstars





	This Is 221B

_Here dwell together still two men of note_  
 _Who never lived and so can never die:_  
 _How very near they seem, yet how remote_  
 _That age before the world went all awry._  
 _But still the game's afoot for those with ears_  
 _Attuned to catch the distant view-halloo:_  
 _England is England yet, for all our fears -_  
 _Only those things the heart believes are true._  
  
_A yellow fog swirls past the window-pane_  
 _As night descends upon this fabled street:_  
 _A lonely hansom splashes through the rain,_  
 _The ghostly gas lamps fail at twenty feet._  
 _Here, though the world explode, these two survive,_  
 _And it is always eighteen ninety-five._

\- Vincent Starrett, “221B”

 

 

 

\---

 

 

 

This is 221B. A leather chair with a royal blue dressing gown slung over it. A Stradivarius and a chemistry set. Fingers in the freezer, a head in the fridge. A skull on the mantel, letters held in place with a knife. Case files and notes on a messy desk.

 

 

 

This is 221B. A red chair across from the leather one, evenly spaced across a threadbare rug. Tea and oatmeal jumpers, medical journals and an unlicensed firearm. Dog tags in a box in the closet.

 

 

 

This is 221B. A long Belstaff coat and a blue scarf. Wild, dark curls and piercing turquoise eyes. A deep purple shirt and a black suit. Socks indexed by color, length, and material. Expensive shoes on the streets of London. Gloved fingers at a crime scene.

 

 

 

This is 221B. A leather jacket and a forgotten cane. A rainbow of jumpers and button-down shirts. Golden hair and ocean-blue eyes. Clothes folded neatly, bed made perfectly. Shorter footsteps follow long strides down 17 steps. A handgun tucked into the back of a pair of jeans, as criminals run and consulting detectives chase.

 

 

 

This is 221B.

 

 

 

221B is Mrs. Hudson’s insistent “not your housekeeper” as she tidies the flat - it’s always left a mess. 221B is the Cluedo board stabbed into the wall, because “the victim couldn't have done it, Sherlock.” 221B is minor explosions and Chinese takeout, crap television and Angelo’s within walking distance. 221B is two chairs facing each other, fleur-de-lis wallpaper, and an old sofa. 221B is John-and-Sherlock, Sherlock-and-John. Always together, always here. The game is on.

 


End file.
